I found a Hammond M3 on trash day

[DoctorC]

This post is going to run and run! Looking forward to each chapter on how Hanon's amazing find is brought back to it's full operational glory

[Hanon_CTS]

This post is going to run and run! Looking forward to each chapter on how Hanon's amazing find is brought back to it's full operational glory

I figure, if I can't do anything else, at least I can provide a little entertainment and light reading
Day 3.
Status update:
Noticed several dead tones in the tone generator "same tone spread across several keys"
Tracked problem to one stuck tonewheel #24, and one broken wire from tonewheel pickup #39
Un-stuck tonewheel, and resoldered the pickup wire (broken wire was hard to find as it was broken inside the insulation).
Cleaned and lubricated drawbars.
General cosmetic cleaning (vacuuming)

DSCN1507.jpg (2.03 MiB) Viewed 4281 times

Still left to do:
Install line out modification.
track down several loud notes. (Might be resolved with line-out, since it could be speaker/ reverb resonant frequencies)
Fix Vibrato/ Chorus (possibly bad tube).
Fix reverb switch (the reverb is on all the time)
Figure out what the slide switch on the side on the volume pedal was supposed to do.

Thanks for reading.
Cheers, Hanon

[shark]

It certainly will keep you off the streets for a while. Which will prevent you from "finding" (ahem) other instruments in the trash!

[Hanon_CTS]

It certainly will keep you off the streets for a while. Which will prevent you from "finding" (ahem) other instruments in the trash!

Nah,
My wife's pretty strict on the whole "going for walks" thing.
She says: it's either that, or she's going to put me in the trash pile next Tuesday.
The only thing sadder than being an old Hammond in the trash, is being an old Hammond player in the trash

Cheers, Hanon

[Michael Wright]

It certainly will keep you off the streets for a while. Which will prevent you from "finding" (ahem) other instruments in the trash!

Nah,
My wife's pretty strict on the whole "going for walks" thing.
She says: it's either that, or she's going to put me in the trash pile next Tuesday.
The only thing sadder than being an old Hammond in the trash, is being an old Hammond player in the trash

Cheers, Hanon

Depends wether or not your going to find another keyboard every time you go for a walk! If that happened to me my wife would quickly put an end to the walkies!!

[Hanon_CTS]

Depends whether or not you're going to find another keyboard every time you go for a walk! If that happened to me my wife would quickly put an end to the walkies!!

She allows me to have my own small space
I'm free to put anything in there that will fit (except for strippers and booze).
Cheers, Hanon

[Hanon_CTS]

Hello all,
just a quick day 4 update (and last update for awhile):
Did the line out mod (this facilitated the new demo recording).

Figured out the switch on the side of the Expression pedal (pedal tones' sustain)
I discovered that the hot (loud) note problem wasn't speaker/ reverb resonance, but a problem with the tone generator (TG).
It seems that the organ had been moved rather roughly without the TG locked down, probably when they threw it in the bin
Hey, I might have even done it when I picked it up and quickly ran away with it laughing

It seems that a collision of the TG with the front or back of the organ can cause the magnet rods to get closer, and sometimes hit the TG wheels.

I loosened the magnet rod and adjusted the offending tone #61(the line out mod made it easier to match the levels of surrounding tones)
It just had to be one in the front that's hard to get to


With this done, the organ sounds good enough to do a quick demo of it.

• Trash_M3_demo.mp3

• foreplay_M3_1.mp3

When I play a lot, I usually play that Boston one fairly well...I haven't been playing a lot


Still no Vibrato/ Chorus (bad tube, waiting on parts)
{edit} Vibrato/ Chorus fixed by un-sticking scanner and replacing 6AU6 tube
Still need to fix the reverb switch.

Long term plans are to re-cap the amplifiers, TG, and vibrato line box

Just quick side note:
I had forgotten the rather unique, musky, oily smell associated with tonewheel organs.
Now my music room has an old familiar smell again. (it's probably just me, as in my excitement, I've forgotten to shower)

Cheers, Hanon

[shark]

Must be the tone generator oil on your fingers Hanon, I remember a previous take of you playing foreplay that sounded better but this one is on the M3! I believe Tom Scholz played it on a M3 as well, one of my all time faves on the Hammond along with the solo on Smokin'!

What would rock have been without it? You got a precious relic there honor it every day!
Shark.

[Hanon_CTS]

Must be the tone generator oil on your fingers Hanon, I remember a previous take of you playing foreplay that sounded better but this one is on the M3! I believe Tom Scholz played it on a M3 as well, one of my all time faves on the Hammond along with the solo on Smokin'!

What would rock have been without it? You got a precious relic there honor it every day!
Shark.

Hi Shark,
I believe this is the best example of what happens when one quits playing, or practicing
I may just change my forum name to: "procrastination and sloth" since I seem to be doing more to support that ideal than the "Hanon" practice regimen.
The last time I posted Foreplay, I practiced it for a couple days straight, and had been playing a lot too.
It's interesting to me that there was a time in the 70s and 80s when all I'd play was a Hammond B-3 and A-100, now the Hammond action feels strange to me, and I much prefer the NE3-61 for organ

This is the first M3 that I've ever owned.
I'd like to really fix it up and stabilize it's condition (particularly the capacitor situation" so this instrument can be passed on to another musician that recognizes it's significance and value (rather than being a trash day epitaph).

I find it simply astounding that it even works at all after half a century of existence.
All of the vacuum tubes are original equipment (1960 date codes)

I really appreciate everyones indulgence of my thread, and allowing me to share this with you.

Cheers, Hanon

[Hanon_CTS]

Must be the tone generator oil on your fingers Hanon, I remember a previous take of you playing foreplay that sounded better but this one is on the M3!

Here's a little better version:
[youtube][/youtube]